US President-elect Donald Trump has chosen ex-Senator David Perdue as ambassador to China.
The former politician has business experience that can be helpful to steer relations riven by deep mistrust and trade tensions between the two countries.
Trump announced this while taking to social media platform Truth Social.
Trump wrote: “He will be instrumental in implementing my strategy to maintain Peace in the region, and a productive working relationship with China’s leaders.”
He further wrote that he will impose an additional 10 per cent tariff on Chinese goods unless Beijing does more to stop the trafficking of the highly addictive narcotic fentanyl.
The US president-elect also threatened tariffs in excess of 60 per cent on Chinese goods while on the campaign trail.
David Perdue is a Republican from Georgia and served in the Senate from 2015-2021. He previously lived in Hong Kong during a 40-year career as a business executive.
David Perdue’s selection marks a return to the frequent practice over recent decades of sending former politicians to the US embassy in Beijing. President Joe Biden had tapped veteran career diplomat Nicholas Burns in 2021.
Trump has also nominated China hardliners for other key roles in his administration, which include Senator Marco Rubio for secretary of state, in a signal his policy toward the United States’ main strategic rival could go beyond trade measures.
